Cluster Documentation Project - Recent changes [en]

Main Page

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 20:37:45 GMT

Cluster Documentation Project™

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:37, 29 September 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	__NOTOC__		__NOTOC__
	== Cluster Documentation Project™ ==		= Cluster Documentation Project™ =
	[[File:cdp_logo_1.png\|left\|250x250px]]		[[File:cdp_logo_1.png\|left\|250x250px]]
	Looking for Cluster Documentation? Jump right to [[Cluster Topics]].		Looking for Cluster Documentation? Jump right to [[Cluster Topics]].

Limulus Benchmarks

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:07:13 GMT

Created page with "===Various Limulus Benchmarks (historical)=== ==HPL Performance== '''i5-2400S Sandy Bridge''' * 200.3 GFLOPS N=40220 (Raw HPL Results) * 58% of Peak (3.3GHz * 4 cores * 8 DP FLOPS/cycle) + (2.5Ghz * 12 cores * 8 FLOPS/cycle) = 345.6 GFLOPS Peak * Three i5-2400S and one i5-2500K each with 4 MB DDR3 RAM, GbE, Intel MKL and compilers '''i5-3470S Ivybridge''' * 256.4 GFLOPS N=58800 (Raw HPL Results) * 69% of Peak (2.9GHz * 16 cores * 8 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 371.2 GFLOPS..."

New page

===Various Limulus Benchmarks (historical)===
==HPL Performance==
'''i5-2400S Sandy Bridge'''

* 200.3 GFLOPS N=40220 (Raw HPL Results)
* 58% of Peak (3.3GHz * 4 cores * 8 DP FLOPS/cycle) + (2.5Ghz * 12 cores * 8 FLOPS/cycle) = 345.6 GFLOPS Peak
* Three i5-2400S and one i5-2500K each with 4 MB DDR3 RAM, GbE, Intel MKL and compilers

'''i5-3470S Ivybridge'''

* 256.4 GFLOPS N=58800 (Raw HPL Results)
* 69% of Peak (2.9GHz * 16 cores * 8 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 371.2 GFLOPS Peak
* Four i5-3470S each with 8 MB DDR3 RAM, GbE, Intel MKL and compilers

'''i5-4570S Haswell'''

* 385.5 GFLOPS N=60000 (Raw HPL Results)
* 52% of Peak (2.9GHz * 16 cores * 16 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 742.4 GFLOPS Peak (Note: Haswell is now 16 FLOPS/cycle)
* Four i5-4570S each with 8 MB DDR3 RAM, GbE, Intel MKL and compilers
 
* 567.4 GFLOPS N=60000 (Raw HPL Results)
* 76% of Peak (2.9GHz * 16 cores * 16 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 742.4 GFLOPS Peak (Note: Haswell is now 16 FLOPS/cycle)
* Four i5-4570S each with 8 MB DDR3 RAM, 10-GbE, Intel MKL and compilers

'''i7-4770S Haswell'''

* 444.8 GFLOPS N=86000 (Raw HPL Results)
* 56% of Peak (3.1GHz * 16 cores * 16 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 793.6 GFLOPS Peak (Note: Haswell is now 16 FLOPS/cycle)
* Four i7-4770S each with 16 MB DDR3 RAM, GbE, HT disabled, Intel MKL and compilers
 
* 498.3 GFLOPS N=126000 (Raw HPL Results)
* 63% of Peak (3.1 GHz * 16 cores * 16 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 793.6 GFLOPS Peak (Note: Haswell is now 16 FLOPS/cycle)
* Four i7-4770S each with 32 MB DDR3 RAM, GbE, HT disabled, Intel MKL and compilers

'''i5-6500 Skylake'''

* 480.2 GFLOPS N=86000 (Raw HPL Results)
* 59% of Peak (3.2GHz * 16 cores * 16 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 819.2 GFLOPS Peak (Note: Skylake is 16 FLOPS/cycle)
* Four i5-6500 each with 16 MB DDR4 RAM, GbE, Intel MKL and compilers
 
* 658.3 GFLOPS N=86000 (Raw HPL Results)
* 80% of Peak (3.2GHz * 16 cores * 16 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 819.2 GFLOPS Peak (Note: Skylake is 16 FLOPS/cycle)
* Four i5-6500 each with 16 MB DDR4 RAM, 10-GbE, Intel MKL and compilers

'''i7-6700 Skylake'''

* 592.5 GFLOPS N=126000 (Raw HPL Results)
* 68% of Peak (3.4GHz * 16 cores * 16 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 870.4 GFLOPS Peak (Note: Skylake is 16 FLOPS/cycle)
* Four i7-6700 each with 32 MB DDR4 RAM, GbE, HT disabled, Intel MKL and compilers
 
* 640.4 GFLOPS N=180000 (Raw HPL Results)
* 74% of Peak (3.4GHz * 16 cores * 16 DP FLOPS/cycle) = 870.4 GFLOPS Peak (Note: Skylake is 16 FLOPS/cycle)
* Four i7-6700 each with 64 MB DDR4 RAM, GbE, HT disabled, Intel MKL and compilers

===Hadoop===

'''Historical Results'''

The cluster consists of four nodes with the following hardware specifications.

* Processor : Intel Core i5-3470S CPU @ 2.90GHz (65W Quad-core Ivy Bridge)
* Memory: 16 GB (DDR3-1600)
* Interconnect: Intel GbE (MTU=4500)
* HDFS Storage: 192 GB SSD (Plexstor M5S 128 GB, Plexstor M5S 64 GB)
* Hadoop Version: 2.2.0 (Hortonworks HDP 2.0 )
* HDFS size: 696.23 GB
* HDFS replication: 2
* OS: Scientific Linux 6.4
* Number of Data nodes: 4
* Number of worker nodes: 4

TestDFSIO (average of 10 runs):

* write: 13.86 MB/sec Single File; 221.80 MB/sec Total Throughput
* read: 53.97 MB/sec Single File; 863.49 MB/sec Total Throughput

Terasort (100 GB):

* 886 seconds, 112.87 MB/sec

'''Previous Results'''

Presented a tutorial on Hadoop recently and used my original Limulus to demonstrate a four node Hadoop cluster. Some of the hardware is actually quite old. The nodes have a single dual core E6550, with 4 GB RAM and a 64MB SSD. The head node has a quad-core Sandy Bridge (i5-2400S) with 4 GB RAM, 64MB SSD, and .5 TB of RAID1. Connections were using the mediocre consumer based Realtek GigE Ethernet controllers on the nodes. Overall it worked well. I plan on making a Hadoop VNFS so that it is possible to boot the nodes into Hadoop. Used the Hortonworks HDP for the Hadoop install. The following are results of the TestDFSIO benchmark (tests the Hadoop File System)

<pre>
----- TestDFSIO ----- : write
Date & time: Wed Feb 06 22:23:24 EST 2013
Number of files: 10
Total MBytes processed: 10000
Throughput mb/sec: 9.684751649071087
Average IO rate mb/sec: 9.751626968383789
IO rate std deviation: 0.8502143053358981
Test exec time sec: 141.977

----- TestDFSIO ----- : read
Date & time: Wed Feb 06 22:26:34 EST 2013
Number of files: 10
Total MBytes processed: 10000
Throughput mb/sec: 44.49229838314988
Average IO rate mb/sec: 51.67889404296875
IO rate std deviation: 23.5285090607248
Test exec time sec: 58.388
</pre>

The Commercial Limulus Cluster

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:52:49 GMT

new

New page

===Limulus Computing for Commercial Limulus Systems===

Please see [https://www.limulus-computing.com/ Limulus Computing] for full details on the commercial Limulus systems. These system are fully tested, supported, and professional constructed.

Full HPL Results 2008

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:49:12 GMT

new

New page

<pre>
============================================================================
HPLinpack 1.0a -- High-Performance Linpack benchmark -- January 20, 2004
Written by A. Petitet and R. Clint Whaley, Innovative Computing Labs., UTK
============================================================================

An explanation of the input/output parameters follows:
T/V : Wall time / encoded variant.
N : The order of the coefficient matrix A.
NB : The partitioning blocking factor.
P : The number of process rows.
Q : The number of process columns.
Time : Time in seconds to solve the linear system.
Gflops : Rate of execution for solving the linear system.

The following parameter values will be used:

N : 28600
NB : 220
PMAP : Row-major process mapping
P : 2
Q : 2
PFACT : Left
NBMIN : 4
NDIV : 2
RFACT : Right
BCAST : 1ringM
DEPTH : 0
SWAP : Mix (threshold = 64)
L1 : transposed form
U : transposed form
EQUIL : yes
ALIGN : 8 double precision words

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

- The matrix A is randomly generated for each test.
- The following scaled residual checks will be computed:
1) ||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_1 * N )
2) ||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_1 * ||x||_1 )
3) ||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_oo * ||x||_oo )
- The relative machine precision (eps) is taken to be 1.110223e-16
- Computational tests pass if scaled residuals are less than 16.0

============================================================================
T/V N NB P Q Time Gflops
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WR01R2L4 28600 220 2 2 291.85 5.344e+01
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_1 * N ) = 0.0038030 ...... PASSED
||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_1 * ||x||_1 ) = 0.0054760 ...... PASSED
||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_oo * ||x||_oo ) = 0.0011149 ...... PASSED
============================================================================

Finished 1 tests with the following results:
1 tests completed and passed residual checks,
0 tests completed and failed residual checks,
0 tests skipped because of illegal input values.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

End of Tests.
============================================================================

</pre>

Full HPL Results 2007

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:47:49 GMT

new

New page

<pre>
============================================================================
HPLinpack 1.0a -- High-Performance Linpack benchmark -- January 20, 2004
Written by A. Petitet and R. Clint Whaley, Innovative Computing Labs., UTK
============================================================================

An explanation of the input/output parameters follows:
T/V : Wall time / encoded variant.
N : The order of the coefficient matrix A.
NB : The partitioning blocking factor.
P : The number of process rows.
Q : The number of process columns.
Time : Time in seconds to solve the linear system.
Gflops : Rate of execution for solving the linear system.

The following parameter values will be used:

N : 19360
NB : 220
PMAP : Row-major process mapping
P : 2
Q : 2
PFACT : Left
NBMIN : 4
NDIV : 2
RFACT : Right
BCAST : 1ringM
DEPTH : 0
SWAP : Mix (threshold = 64)
L1 : transposed form
U : transposed form
EQUIL : yes
ALIGN : 8 double precision words

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

- The matrix A is randomly generated for each test.
- The following scaled residual checks will be computed:
1) ||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_1 * N )
2) ||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_1 * ||x||_1 )
3) ||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_oo * ||x||_oo )
- The relative machine precision (eps) is taken to be 1.110223e-16
- Computational tests pass if scaled residuals are less than 16.0

============================================================================
T/V N NB P Q Time Gflops
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WR01R2L4 19360 220 2 2 101.40 4.771e+01
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_1 * N ) = 0.0041180 ...... PASSED
||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_1 * ||x||_1 ) = 0.0062675 ...... PASSED
||Ax-b||_oo / ( eps * ||A||_oo * ||x||_oo ) = 0.0011940 ...... PASSED
============================================================================

Finished 1 tests with the following results:
1 tests completed and passed residual checks,
0 tests completed and failed residual checks,
0 tests skipped because of illegal input values.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

End of Tests.
============================================================================
</pre>

The Norbert Limulus Cluster

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:36:52 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:36, 29 September 2026
Line 24:		Line 24:
	===Performance===		===Performance===

	HPL 2007: 47.71 GFLOPS before RAM upgrade (1 GB per node) Full HPL Results		*HPL 2007: 47.71 GFLOPS before RAM upgrade (1 GB per node) [[Full HPL Results 2007]]
	HPL 2008: 53.44 GFLOPS after RAM upgrade (2 GB per node) Full HPL Results		*HPL 2008: 53.44 GFLOPS after RAM upgrade (2 GB per node) [[Full HPL Results 2008]]
	Price to Performance
			===Price to Performance===

	September 2007: $48.25/GFLOP		September 2007: $48.25/GFLOP
	September 2008: $39.15/GFLOP		September 2008: $39.15/GFLOP


	===Power===		===Power===
Line 40:		Line 40:
	The following table summarizes the idle and loaded power draw (in Watts) measured for each node and processor (E6550=Core2 Dual 2.33GHz, Q6600=Core2 Quad 2.4GHz). All cores were busy running the single copies of the NAS parallel benchmark. The highest Watts valued was used.		The following table summarizes the idle and loaded power draw (in Watts) measured for each node and processor (E6550=Core2 Dual 2.33GHz, Q6600=Core2 Quad 2.4GHz). All cores were busy running the single copies of the NAS parallel benchmark. The highest Watts valued was used.

			[[File:Power-Use.png]]

	Of course, if the nodes are not being used, they are manually powered down to stand-by mode (5Watts) and then restarted with WOL (wake on lan). I would like to integrate this into the scheduler.		Of course, if the nodes are not being used, they are manually powered down to stand-by mode (5Watts) and then restarted with WOL (wake on lan). I would like to integrate this into the scheduler.


	===Power Load Running HPL===		===Power Load Running HPL===

	When it is fully loaded running the HPL benchmark Norbert (four E6550's) draws between 371-483 Watts. The number varied as the benchmark progressed which I assumed is an indication of how modern processors are managing power consumption based on load. Even with the maximum power draw, the power performance ratio is a comfortable 10-11 Watts per GFLOPS.		When it is fully loaded running the HPL benchmark Norbert (four E6550's) draws between 371-483 Watts. The number varied as the benchmark progressed which I assumed is an indication of how modern processors are managing power consumption based on load. Even with the maximum power draw, the power performance ratio is a comfortable 10-11 Watts per GFLOPS.

File:Power-Use.png

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:31:10 GMT

Deadline uploaded File:Power-Use.png

New page

The Norbert Limulus Cluster

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:30:51 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:30, 29 September 2026
Line 19:		Line 19:

	===Hardware Manifest===		===Hardware Manifest===

			[[File:HW_Manifest.png]]

	===Performance===		===Performance===

File:HW Manifest.png

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:29:38 GMT

Deadline uploaded File:HW Manifest.png

New page

The Norbert Limulus Cluster

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:29:09 GMT

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''Norbert Design'''
+==Norbert Design==
 Norbert was designed to use totally off-the-shelf parts. There is no custom case work required. Of course the hardware could be placed in a smaller volume with a custom case design, but that would require extra work and our goal is to create an easy to assemble system.
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 The following is a front view. The two GigE switches are on the top. Units can be removed without too much trouble, however, there is little need to take anything off the shelves. The cases have build in temperature sensors (blue lights on the front). The head node is located on the top left (it has a DVD drive).
-limulus-front-500x414.jpg
+[[File:limulus-front-500x414_AwwV.jpg|center]]
 The following a picture of the back. The two switches can be seen on the top. Of course there is a need for some cabling clean up (I plan on making custom length cables). There is a powerstrip on bottom middle of the shelf. The single powerstrip cord is the only power connection needed.

File:Limulus-back-500x375 AwwV.jpg

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:16:01 GMT

Deadline uploaded File:Limulus-back-500x375 AwwV.jpg

New page

File:Limulus-front-500x414 AwwV.jpg

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:15:43 GMT

Deadline uploaded File:Limulus-front-500x414 AwwV.jpg

New page

The Norbert Limulus Cluster

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:15:00 GMT

new

New page

'''Norbert Design'''

Norbert was designed to use totally off-the-shelf parts. There is no custom case work required. Of course the hardware could be placed in a smaller volume with a custom case design, but that would require extra work and our goal is to create an easy to assemble system.

Norbert basically consists of a head node and three diskless worker nodes. All nodes have an extra PCIe GigE card for compute traffic. The head node has a DVD, a hard drive, and an extra network card to connect to the LAN. Each node has a single socket Gigbyte GA-G33M-DS2R motherboard with a 2.33 GHz Core2 Duo (E6550) processor, and one GByte of RAM (upgraded to 2GB in 2008). There are a total of eight cores in Norbert.
Norbert Pictures

Norbert measures 26 inches (66 cm) across, 16 (41 cm) inches deep, and 25 (64 cm) inches high. I placed the cases on a inexpensive wire shelf cart so it can be moved easily.

The following is a front view. The two GigE switches are on the top. Units can be removed without too much trouble, however, there is little need to take anything off the shelves. The cases have build in temperature sensors (blue lights on the front). The head node is located on the top left (it has a DVD drive).

limulus-front-500x414.jpg

The following a picture of the back. The two switches can be seen on the top. Of course there is a need for some cabling clean up (I plan on making custom length cables). There is a powerstrip on bottom middle of the shelf. The single powerstrip cord is the only power connection needed.

Limulus Software

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:12:02 GMT

added image

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:12, 29 September 2026
Line 37:		Line 37:

	To see how the number of nodes changes with the work in the queue, consider the Ganglia trace below. Note that the number of nodes in the cluster load graph (green line) changes from 1 to 2 then 3 then back down to 1. Similarly the number of CPUs (red line) raises to 8 then back to down to 4 (the original 4 cores in the head node). Similar changes can be seen in the system memory.		To see how the number of nodes changes with the work in the queue, consider the Ganglia trace below. Note that the number of nodes in the cluster load graph (green line) changes from 1 to 2 then 3 then back down to 1. Similarly the number of CPUs (red line) raises to 8 then back to down to 4 (the original 4 cores in the head node). Similar changes can be seen in the system memory.

			[[File:Ganglia-sge-control3-600x258_fMvP.jpg\|center]]

File:Ganglia-sge-control3-600x258 fMvP.jpg

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:10:14 GMT

Deadline uploaded File:Ganglia-sge-control3-600x258 fMvP.jpg

New page

Limulus Software

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:09:20 GMT

new

New page

'''Limulus Software'''

The following is a list of basic cluster RPMS that will be included in the software stack. The base distribution will be Scientific Linux. An open [https://www.limulus-computing.com/software/software up-to-date software stack] is used for modern Limulus machines.

# Scientific Linux V6.3 - RHEL work alike distribution
# Warewulf Cluster Toolkit - Cluster provisioning and administration (V3.1)
# PDSH - Parallel Distributed Shell for collective administration
# Whatsup - A cluster node up/down detection utility
# Open Grid Scheduler - previously Sun Grid Engine Resource Scheduler
# Ganglia - Cluster Monitoring System
# GNU Compilers (gcc, g++, g77, gdb) - Standard GNU compiler suite
# Modules - Manages User Environments
# PVM - Parallel Virtual Machine (message passing middleware)
# MPICH2 - MPI Library (message passing middleware)
# OPEN-MPI - MPI Library (message passing middleware)
# Open-MX - Myrinet Express over Ethernet
# ATLAS - host tuned BLAS library
# OpenBLAS - optimized BLAS library (previously Goto library)
# FFTW - Optimized FFT library
# FFTPACK - FFT library
# LAPACK and BLAS - Linear Algebra library
# ScaLAPACK - Scalable Linear Algebra Package
# PetSc Scalable PDE solvers
# GNU GSL - GNU Scientific Library (over 1000 functions)
# PADB - Parallel Application Debugger Inspection Tool
# Julia - Easy To Use High Performance Parallel Scientific Language
# Userstat - a "top" like job queue/node monitoring application
# Beowulf Performance Suite - benchmark and testing suite
# relayset - power relay control utility
# ssmtp - mail forwarder for nodes

'''Automatic Power Control'''

One key design component of the new Limulus Case is software controlled power to the nodes. This feature will allow nodes to be powered-on only when needed. As an experiment, a simple script was written that monitors the Grid Engine queue. If there are jobs waiting in the queue, nodes are powered-on. Once the work is done (i.e. nothing more in the queue) the nodes are powered off). '''Note:''' Newer Limulus systems use the SLURM Scheduler which provides hooks to power nodes off and on similar to this Grid Engine example.

As an example, an 8 core job was run on the Norbert cluster (in the Limulus case). The head node has 4 cores and each worker node has 2 cores for a total of 10 cores. An 8 node job was submitted via Grid Engine with only the head node powered-on. The script noticed the job waiting in the queue and turned on a single worker node to give 6 cores total, which were still not enough. Another node was powered-on and the total cores reached 8 and the job started to run. After completion, the script noticed that there was nothing in the queue and shutdown the nodes.

To see how the number of nodes changes with the work in the queue, consider the Ganglia trace below. Note that the number of nodes in the cluster load graph (green line) changes from 1 to 2 then 3 then back down to 1. Similarly the number of CPUs (red line) raises to 8 then back to down to 4 (the original 4 cores in the head node). Similar changes can be seen in the system memory.

Limulus Hardware

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 14:58:03 GMT

new

New page

The following is the Limulus Reference design. This design was used for the latest Norbert cluster. Notice that there are two separate Ethernet switches. Ostensibly, one is for compute traffic and one for administration and file system traffic, however, there is no restriction on how applications may use these two channels. Also note that one port on the switch is used for expansion within the private cluster network.

[[File:Limulus-Design.png|center]]

File:Limulus-Design.png

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 14:52:44 GMT

Deadline uploaded File:Limulus-Design.png

New page

Limulus Design

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 14:13:33 GMT

new

New page

The definition of a Limulus is as follows:

# Uses standard hardware off the shelf hardware and allows for both file system and compute node expansion;
# Uses an Open Source cluster software stack that contains an integrated set of software packages to manage the cluster and create and run software. The software stack must run on top of existing Linux distributions;
# Consumes less than 150 watts when idle and less then 1200 watts when fully loaded;
# Has a power supply efficiency above 80% to reduce heat
# Has a noise signature that is acceptable in a modern office environment (less than 45dB).
# Achieves a price to performance of less then $100(US) per GFLOPS

As you can see some of the design parameters are rather loose allowing design flexibility, while others are very tight providing desktop/office functionality.

A good explanation of the [https://www.limulus-computing.com/Limulus-Manual/doku.php?id=limulus_design_philosophy Limulus Design Philosophy] is available from Limulus Computing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:57:52 GMT

new

New page

Rather than managing two copies, the [https://www.limulus-computing.com/help/frequenly-asked-questions Limulus FAQ] has been transferred to Limulus Computing.

Limulus Project

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:54:49 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:54, 29 September 2026
Line 20:		Line 20:

	The project is was hosted by Basement Supercomputing (now [https://www.limulus-computing.com Limulus Computing]).		The project is was hosted by Basement Supercomputing (now [https://www.limulus-computing.com Limulus Computing]).

	'''Limulus Trademarks and Licensing'''		'''Limulus Trademarks and Licensing'''

	The Limulus Logo and the Limulus Project are trademarks of Limulus Computing. For commercial use of project trademarks or sponsorships, contact Limulus Computing.		The Limulus Logo and the Limulus Project are trademarks of [https://www.limulus-computing.com Limulus Computing]. For commercial use of project trademarks or sponsorships, contact Limulus Computing.

	Software used by the project is subject to license terms and copyrights as per the authors. Please consult individual packages for more information.		Software used by the project is subject to license terms and copyrights as per the authors. Please consult individual packages for more information.

Cluster Documentation Project:About

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:52:12 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:52, 29 September 2026
Line 7:		Line 7:
	[[Image:CM_logo-440x150-tm.jpg\|center]]		[[Image:CM_logo-440x150-tm.jpg\|center]]

	For banner advertising please contact [~~http~~://www.clustermonkey.net//~~component/option,com_contact/task,view~~/~~contact_id,~~1~~/Itemid,3/~~ The Head Monkey] as ClusterMonkey.		For banner advertising please contact [https://www.clustermonkey.net/contact-mainmenu-3/53-head-monkey/1-douglas-eadline.html The Head Monkey] as ClusterMonkey.

Limulus Project

Deadline — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:46:26 GMT

updated links

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:46, 29 September 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	Information on the Limulus project is mostly for historical value. Current open development is by [https://www.limulus-computing.com Limulus Computing] (consult the [https://www.limulus-computing.com/Limulus-Manual/doku.php Systems Manual]		Information on the Limulus project is mostly for historical value. Current open development is performed by [https://www.limulus-computing.com Limulus Computing] (consult the [https://www.limulus-computing.com/Limulus-Manual/doku.php Systems Manual] for details of these systems).

	'''What is the Limulus Project?'''		'''What is the Limulus Project?'''

	The Limulus project goal is to create and maintain an open specification and software stack for a personal workstation cluster. As "edge of cloud" computing becomes more important, these systems are designed to offer HPC, Big Data (Hadoop-Spark), and Deep Learning in almost any location. Ideally, a user should be able to build or purchase a small personal workstation cluster using the Limulus reference design and low cost hardware. In addition, a freely available turn-key Linux based software stack will be created and maintained for use on the Limulus design. A Limulus is intended to be a local workstation cluster platform where users can develop software, test ideas, run edge applications, and teach HPC methods. Consult the following draft of a Linux ~~Magazine Limulus Article~~ (pdf) for more information. The Limulus idea actually came from the 2005 AMD Value Cluster Project.		The Limulus project goal is to create and maintain an open specification and software stack for a personal workstation cluster. As "edge of cloud" computing becomes more important, these systems are designed to offer HPC, Big Data (Hadoop-Spark), and Deep Learning in almost any location. Ideally, a user should be able to build or purchase a small personal workstation cluster using the Limulus reference design and low cost hardware. In addition, a freely available turn-key Linux based software stack will be created and maintained for use on the Limulus design. A Limulus is intended to be a local workstation cluster platform where users can develop software, test ideas, run edge applications, and teach HPC methods. Consult the following draft of [https://www.clustermonkey.net/download/whitepapers/Limulus-Nov-2007-draft.pdf The Personal Linux Cluster: Putting GFLOPS on Desktops (pdf)] from Linux Magazine for more background information. The Limulus idea actually came from the [https://www.clustermonkey.net/learning-about-clusters-topmenu-44/projects/41-the-value-cluster-cheaper-better-faster.html Clusterworld Magazine 2005 AMD Value Cluster Project].

	'''Topics:'''		'''Topics:'''
Line 17:		Line 17:
	'''Project Status'''		'''Project Status'''

	The research project has transferred to an open commercial ~~endevour~~ (Limulus Computing).		The research project has transferred to an open commercial endeavor (Limulus Computing).

	The project is hosted by Basement Supercomputing.		The project is was hosted by Basement Supercomputing (now [https://www.limulus-computing.com Limulus Computing]).
	'''Limulus Trademarks and Licensing'''		'''Limulus Trademarks and Licensing'''

Local Desk-side Clusters

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:30:16 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:30, 28 September 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	The Limulus project is focused on desk-side computational clusters for both HPC and Data Analytics		The Limulus project is focused on desk-side computational clusters for both HPC and Data Analytics. '''Limulus''' is an acronym for LInux MULti-core Unified Supercomputer.

	* [[Limulus Project]]		* [[Limulus Project]]
	* [https://www.limulus-computing.com/ Limulus Computing]		* [https://www.limulus-computing.com/ Limulus Computing]
	* [https://www.limulus-computing.com/Limulus-Manual/doku.php Limulus Computing Systems Manual]		* [https://www.limulus-computing.com/Limulus-Manual/doku.php Limulus Computing Systems Manual]

Limulus Project

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:28:22 GMT

new

New page

Information on the Limulus project is mostly for historical value. Current open development is by [https://www.limulus-computing.com Limulus Computing] (consult the [https://www.limulus-computing.com/Limulus-Manual/doku.php Systems Manual]

'''What is the Limulus Project?'''

The Limulus project goal is to create and maintain an open specification and software stack for a personal workstation cluster. As "edge of cloud" computing becomes more important, these systems are designed to offer HPC, Big Data (Hadoop-Spark), and Deep Learning in almost any location. Ideally, a user should be able to build or purchase a small personal workstation cluster using the Limulus reference design and low cost hardware. In addition, a freely available turn-key Linux based software stack will be created and maintained for use on the Limulus design. A Limulus is intended to be a local workstation cluster platform where users can develop software, test ideas, run edge applications, and teach HPC methods. Consult the following draft of a Linux Magazine Limulus Article (pdf) for more information. The Limulus idea actually came from the 2005 AMD Value Cluster Project.

'''Topics:'''

[[Frequently Asked Questions]]
[[Limulus Design]]
[[Limulus Hardware]]
[[Limulus Software]]
[[The Norbert Limulus Cluster]]
[[The Commercial Limulus Cluster]]
[[Limulus Benchmarks]]

'''Project Status'''

The research project has transferred to an open commercial endevour (Limulus Computing).

The project is hosted by Basement Supercomputing.
'''Limulus Trademarks and Licensing'''

The Limulus Logo and the Limulus Project are trademarks of Limulus Computing. For commercial use of project trademarks or sponsorships, contact Limulus Computing.

Software used by the project is subject to license terms and copyrights as per the authors. Please consult individual packages for more information.

Local Desk-side Clusters

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:17:55 GMT

added links

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:17, 28 September 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	Limulus Project		The Limulus project is focused on desk-side computational clusters for both HPC and Data Analytics
	Limulus Systems		* [[Limulus Project]]
			* [https://www.limulus-computing.com/ Limulus Computing]
			* [https://www.limulus-computing.com/Limulus-Manual/doku.php Limulus Computing Systems Manual]

Local Desk-side Clusters

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:11:33 GMT

new

New page

Limulus Project
Limulus Systems

Cluster Topics

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:10:32 GMT

added Local Desk-side Clusters

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:10, 28 September 2026
Line 23:		Line 23:

	'''Other Topics'''		'''Other Topics'''
			* [[Local Desk-side Clusters]]
	* [[Surveys Market Data]]		* [[Surveys Market Data]]
	* [[Grid Computing]]		* [[Grid Computing]]
	* [[Services/Consulting/Assistance]]		* [[Services/Consulting/Assistance]]
	* [[Resources]]		* [[Resources]]

Cluster How-To's

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:07:51 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:07, 28 September 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	* [[Tuning Intel e1000 NICs]]		* [[Tuning Intel e1000 NICs]]
	* [[Limiting MPI (1.2x) traffic to one NIC]]		* [[Limiting MPI (1.2x) traffic to one NIC]]
	* [http://linux-net.osdl.org/index.php/Bonding A discussion of Linux Ethernet Bonding]
	* [http://linux-net.osdl.org/index.php/Main_Pagening Linux Networking Help Page]

Cluster Design

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:06:23 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:06, 28 September 2026
Line 36:		Line 36:
	* [http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Beowulf/beowulf_book.php Engineering a Beowulf-Style Compute Cluster by Robert G. Brown ] - A freely available book on building/designing Beowulf style clusters.		* [http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Beowulf/beowulf_book.php Engineering a Beowulf-Style Compute Cluster by Robert G. Brown ] - A freely available book on building/designing Beowulf style clusters.

	* See the Cluster Monkey [~~http~~://www.clustermonkey.net/~~Books~~/ Cluster Books Page ]		* See the Cluster Monkey [https://www.clustermonkey.net/links-mainmenu-23/80-books.html Cluster Books Page ]

Surveys Market Data

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:04:34 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:04, 28 September 2026
(2 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~Professioanl~~ survey organizations:		Professional survey organizations (often offer free reports):

	* [~~http~~://~~www.idc~~.com/~~research/viewfactsheet.jsp?containerId=IDC_P7&sectionId=null&elementId=null&pageType=SYNOPSIS IDC~~]		* [https://hyperionresearch.com/ Hyperion Research]

	* [http://www.intersect360.com/ ~~InterSect360~~]		* [http://www.intersect360.com/ Intersect360 Research]

	There are also links to informal surveys and free marketing reports on ClusterMonkey.		There are also links to informal surveys and free marketing reports on ClusterMonkey.

	* [~~http~~://www.clustermonkey.net/~~/component/option,com_weblinks/catid,55/Itemid,~~23/ Cluster/HPC Polls and Surveys ]		* [https://www.clustermonkey.net/links-mainmenu-23/84-cluster-hpc-polls-and-surveys.html Cluster/HPC Polls and Surveys ]

Essential HPC

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:32:14 GMT

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:32, 28 September 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	''Practical High Performance Concepts, Techniques, and Procedures''		''Practical High Performance Concepts, Techniques, and Procedures''

	This book will be based on CDP wiki content and is intended to help answer questions and get your HPC projects moving forward quickly. The book is expected to be available in the near future. A soft version will be available at no charge and a special limited edition hard copy will be printed "on demand." We are looking for sponsors ~~for a SC 2017 version~~. (more details soon)		This book will be based on CDP wiki content and is intended to help answer questions and get your HPC projects moving forward quickly. The book is expected to be available in the near future. A soft version will be available at no charge and a special limited edition hard copy will be printed "on demand." We are looking for sponsors. (more details soon)

	==Tentative Table of Contents==		==Tentative Table of Contents==

Main Page

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:31:24 GMT

fixed links

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:31, 28 September 2026
Line 16:		Line 16:
	The word [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_cluster cluster] has many meanings. The Cluster Documentation Project is designed to document and professionally publish High Performance Computing (HPC) Cluster information. The focus will be on tutorial and how-to information rather than theoretical aspects of HPC. Currently there are [[Cluster Topics]] which is a compendium of current benchmarks, products, technologies, methods, best practices, etc. that will help those interested in clustering. When funded the project will enhance this resource.		The word [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_cluster cluster] has many meanings. The Cluster Documentation Project is designed to document and professionally publish High Performance Computing (HPC) Cluster information. The focus will be on tutorial and how-to information rather than theoretical aspects of HPC. Currently there are [[Cluster Topics]] which is a compendium of current benchmarks, products, technologies, methods, best practices, etc. that will help those interested in clustering. When funded the project will enhance this resource.

	See ~~a recent~~ [http://www.admin-magazine.com/HPC/Articles/Cluster-Documentation-Project/%28language%29/eng-US article] in HPC Admin magazine for more background.		See an [http://www.admin-magazine.com/HPC/Articles/Cluster-Documentation-Project/%28language%29/eng-US article] in HPC Admin magazine for more background.

	[[Beowulf Cluster History Project]]		Background: [[Beowulf Cluster History Project]]

	===Writers and Contributors===		===Writers and Contributors===

	Contributions are accepted from the community -- both users and vendors. All content is subject to approval by the editors ~~and critical content will be created with paid experienced writers~~. If you are interested in contributing please ~~join the~~ [~~http~~://www.clustermonkey.net/~~mailman~~/~~listinfo~~/~~hpc~~-~~writers HPC Writers list~~]. All submitted content will be made available under a [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ Creative Commons License].		Contributions are accepted from the community -- both users and vendors. All content is subject to approval by the editors. If you are interested in contributing please contact [https://www.clustermonkey.net/contact-mainmenu-3/53-head-monkey/1-douglas-eadline.html Douglas Eadline]. All submitted content will be made available under a [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ Creative Commons License].

	===Questions===		===Questions===

Beowulf Cluster History Project

Deadline — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:20:00 GMT

The Beowulf Cluster History Project: added link to video

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:20, 28 September 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	==The Beowulf Cluster History Project ==		==The Beowulf Cluster History Project ==

	~~History links, pictures~~		For a history of the Beowulf Project (with interviews of the original participants) see the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-epcSlAFvI The Beowulf Disruption: Changing the Course of HPC] video.